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More than 235,000 people have fled Idlib region in Syria, says UN
Source: The Guardian
More than 235,000 people have fled Idlib region in Syria, says UN
Displacement follows two weeks of air and ground assaults on rebel stronghold
Emma Graham-Harrison and Hussein Akoush in Gaziantep
Fri 27 Dec 2019 17.58 GMT
First published on Fri 27 Dec 2019 12.19 GMT
More than 235,000 civilians have fled their homes in opposition-held areas of north-west Syria in the past two weeks, the UN has said, after attacks by Syrian government forces intensified.
Syrian troops and their foreign backers are targeting the towns of Maaret al-Numan and Saraqeb in Idlib province, which sit on a highway connecting Aleppo with the capital, Damascus.
The attacks come in defiance of an August ceasefire deal and calls for de-escalation from Turkey, France and the UN. Bashar al-Assad’s government, which controls 70% of Syria, has repeatedly vowed to take back Idlib.
There are an estimated 3 million civilians living in the province, including many who had already fled violence in other parts of Syria during the country’s long civil war.
A wave of aerial bombing began around 16 December, followed by a ground offensive from 19 December, a statement from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.
-snip-
Displacement follows two weeks of air and ground assaults on rebel stronghold
Emma Graham-Harrison and Hussein Akoush in Gaziantep
Fri 27 Dec 2019 17.58 GMT
First published on Fri 27 Dec 2019 12.19 GMT
More than 235,000 civilians have fled their homes in opposition-held areas of north-west Syria in the past two weeks, the UN has said, after attacks by Syrian government forces intensified.
Syrian troops and their foreign backers are targeting the towns of Maaret al-Numan and Saraqeb in Idlib province, which sit on a highway connecting Aleppo with the capital, Damascus.
The attacks come in defiance of an August ceasefire deal and calls for de-escalation from Turkey, France and the UN. Bashar al-Assad’s government, which controls 70% of Syria, has repeatedly vowed to take back Idlib.
There are an estimated 3 million civilians living in the province, including many who had already fled violence in other parts of Syria during the country’s long civil war.
A wave of aerial bombing began around 16 December, followed by a ground offensive from 19 December, a statement from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/27/more-than-235000-people-have-fled-idlib-region-in-syria-says-un